1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, generally, to a construction system having a plurality of construction elements, and specifically to construction elements having identically shaped interlocking portions.
The present invention, more particularly, relates to applications of the construction system in toy construction sets, two-dimensional or three-dimensional construction puzzles and board games.
2. Description of the Prior Art
At present, there exist numerous construction systems that include male and female interlocking members. Also known in the prior art are construction systems including identically shaped interlocking portions.
One such construction system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,548,590, wherein resiliently openable jaws provide means for connection. U.S. Pat. No. 5,897,417 discloses a socket-to-socket construction system where the interlocking sockets form a sphere. The interlocking effect is provided solely by the specific irregular shape of the socket's contours, where the contour of the outer portions of the first socket is complementary to the contour of the inner portions of the second socket, and vice versa.
The function of the above, as well as other systems known in prior art, is inevitably linked to the geometric shape of the connecting resilient jaws or sockets, which limits their application scope. For instance, stylistic variations or more radical geometric adjustments of the coupling members are generally not possible because their functionality could be adversely affected. In other words, the coupling members must generally look the way it is required by definition, and furthermore they must look alike for all construction elements.
Furthermore, connections of such character tend to decouple easily even if a force is applied in directions other than the desired decoupling direction, which comes from the fact that the resisting resilient force is distributed all along the interface contours and in various directions depending on the curvature of the coupling member. Such behaviour is mostly apparent in cases where a force that causes a moment about the centre of the connection is applied to one of the connected elements, in which case the coupled contours slip away from each other resulting ultimately in decoupling.
A need exists therefore for a construction system where there are no stylistic or geometrical restrictions concerning the shape of the coupling members. Various construction elements can therefore comprise differently shaped coupling members that are still interlockable. Furthermore, a need exists for a construction system that provides an easily achieved and stable connection, and where the coupling members can basically be disconnected only if the force is applied along the desired decoupling direction.